Back to Humanities
Honors Independent Study
At the beginning of the year, a group of brave students embarked on an independent study project for their honors extension in 11th grade Humanities. This project required us to discover a topic or moment in history that inspired and intrigued us and then we researched that topic. During our research, we completed research source responses which demonstrated our knowledge of the content and our deep thinking that we applied to analyzing the sources. For this project, I knew I wanted to study gay rights and the path of homosexuality, but I didn't know exactly what my project question would be. I started with a couple preliminary questions like: What was it like to be a homosexual in the mid
1990’s (50’s and 60’s); How does the oppression of gay marriage impact
our culture?; In the present day, do we see similar treatment of gays
as we did with blacks?; How did the media in the past effect the
oppression of gay rights?; Who spoke against this unfair treatment in the
past? However, I finally settled on the project questions: How
have historical events shaped the path to homosexual equality? Ever since I can remember I have been passionate about this topic and equal love and I thought that this independent study project would be a great place for me to expand my knowledge of homosexual movement and details and lead us to the future condition of the civil rights movement.
As expected, I learned a great deal from this project and the process of the research. The largest personal and academic challenge I faced was procrastination. We were given a copious amount of time to complete this project, but I did not start my presentation piece for exhibition until a week or so before exhibition and I even ended up working up to the day before exhibition to complete my project. With the documentation binder, we were given intermittent deadlines which kept me on track, but I still pushed off the honors section of my homework load until the last moment possible. During my independent study notes, I also noticed that my level of academic rigor dropped because I was pushing these assignments to the last thing on my to-do list, which meant that I was completing the responses and research notes at late hours when my mind is nearly numb. After realizing this was affecting my academics, I understood that it was a personal issue holding me back from achieving high academics. This was a really sharp awakening to me that I need to focus on my skills in time management because of my lack of focus. Through the procrastination and lack of time management, I learned that I really have a talent for pulling things together, which was a rewarding lesson. Now that I have been in the crunch time for a large project and I pulled through, I know that I can function under stress which will greatly help me in my senior year as well as in college when I will be balancing a full schedule. Although I do not want to get in the habit of pushing assignments to the back burner until the day before they are due, it is rewarding to know that I can accomplish great work under pressure. After this project, I feel very well prepared to complete my senior independent study project as well as any projects that I may need to be self-motivated on in college. I have learned that by setting myself deadlines is a necessary part to success in independent projects. On top of personally set due dates, I can also set myself "do" dates where I section out time of my regular work to focus on my independent research.
Students of Animas High School are constantly pushing themselves to achieve high standards of academics and produce beautiful work on a daily basis. As a high achieving student, I am always looking at my work with a critical eye, trying to find an area for refinement. The largest revision I would have made would have been my time management and project timeline. Two days before the exhibition, I was rushing to finish my paintings that I had committed to in my project proposal. If I could go back and revise this part of my project, I would have dedicated more time to my paintings to make them as polished and refined as possible. Even at exhibition, the refinement of my paintings was the largest flaw I saw in my project. The other revision I would have made is to my documentation binder. In my research, I felt like I was finding sources that were very broad because I did not have a narrowed, focused research question. To refine this project, I would have like to refined and polished my research question and then based the rest of my research off of my question. This way, every part of my project would tie seamlessly into my research question. This would have also made my paintings more centered and focused on one specific section of the battle for homosexual equality.
For students coming into the challenging junior year, I have a couple recommendations. The most important thing is knowing personal abilities and limits. I would not have recommended several of my peers, even if they were friends, for the honors extension because of the rigorous curriculum. Once enrolled and committed to the honors program in Humanities, my largest advice to students on that course, is to start early and utilize teacher meetings . The earlier you start your project and documentation binder, the more time you will have when it comes down to the exhibition and you will be able to relax instead of running around the school like a sleep deprived junior. During my project, there were certainly times when I could have used more direction to help me focus my research question on a specific topic and to develop a strong thesis. I could have reached out to my teacher early in the process to get the necessary help on these difficulties and challenges, but I didn't. I strongly recommend meeting with your humanities teacher if you need help at any point in the research and documentation process.
As expected, I learned a great deal from this project and the process of the research. The largest personal and academic challenge I faced was procrastination. We were given a copious amount of time to complete this project, but I did not start my presentation piece for exhibition until a week or so before exhibition and I even ended up working up to the day before exhibition to complete my project. With the documentation binder, we were given intermittent deadlines which kept me on track, but I still pushed off the honors section of my homework load until the last moment possible. During my independent study notes, I also noticed that my level of academic rigor dropped because I was pushing these assignments to the last thing on my to-do list, which meant that I was completing the responses and research notes at late hours when my mind is nearly numb. After realizing this was affecting my academics, I understood that it was a personal issue holding me back from achieving high academics. This was a really sharp awakening to me that I need to focus on my skills in time management because of my lack of focus. Through the procrastination and lack of time management, I learned that I really have a talent for pulling things together, which was a rewarding lesson. Now that I have been in the crunch time for a large project and I pulled through, I know that I can function under stress which will greatly help me in my senior year as well as in college when I will be balancing a full schedule. Although I do not want to get in the habit of pushing assignments to the back burner until the day before they are due, it is rewarding to know that I can accomplish great work under pressure. After this project, I feel very well prepared to complete my senior independent study project as well as any projects that I may need to be self-motivated on in college. I have learned that by setting myself deadlines is a necessary part to success in independent projects. On top of personally set due dates, I can also set myself "do" dates where I section out time of my regular work to focus on my independent research.
Students of Animas High School are constantly pushing themselves to achieve high standards of academics and produce beautiful work on a daily basis. As a high achieving student, I am always looking at my work with a critical eye, trying to find an area for refinement. The largest revision I would have made would have been my time management and project timeline. Two days before the exhibition, I was rushing to finish my paintings that I had committed to in my project proposal. If I could go back and revise this part of my project, I would have dedicated more time to my paintings to make them as polished and refined as possible. Even at exhibition, the refinement of my paintings was the largest flaw I saw in my project. The other revision I would have made is to my documentation binder. In my research, I felt like I was finding sources that were very broad because I did not have a narrowed, focused research question. To refine this project, I would have like to refined and polished my research question and then based the rest of my research off of my question. This way, every part of my project would tie seamlessly into my research question. This would have also made my paintings more centered and focused on one specific section of the battle for homosexual equality.
For students coming into the challenging junior year, I have a couple recommendations. The most important thing is knowing personal abilities and limits. I would not have recommended several of my peers, even if they were friends, for the honors extension because of the rigorous curriculum. Once enrolled and committed to the honors program in Humanities, my largest advice to students on that course, is to start early and utilize teacher meetings . The earlier you start your project and documentation binder, the more time you will have when it comes down to the exhibition and you will be able to relax instead of running around the school like a sleep deprived junior. During my project, there were certainly times when I could have used more direction to help me focus my research question on a specific topic and to develop a strong thesis. I could have reached out to my teacher early in the process to get the necessary help on these difficulties and challenges, but I didn't. I strongly recommend meeting with your humanities teacher if you need help at any point in the research and documentation process.
Art Component of Project
Brief Artist Statements
1. The Miseducation of Cameron Post
I based these paintings off of the fictionalized source I read during the research process. These images represent different parts of the main character’s life as she copes with her sexuality in a close-minded Montana town.
2. Noose of Insanity
In these paintings, a room in a mental institution is the setting. The picture on the wall slowly changes from random lines to a noose through the perception of a homosexual that went insane after being sent to a mental hospital.
3. Gold Plated Marriage
I painted these with marriage equality in mind, using the male and female symbols to represent rings. The gold background also represents weddings, based on the common connotation with gold colors.
4. Bold Allies
This set of paintings represents the allies of the homosexuals that have joined forces to achieve equality and identical rights.
5. Halted Heart
This set of paintings represents the homosexuals who have felt so isolated and rejected; they sought escape through their death.
I based these paintings off of the fictionalized source I read during the research process. These images represent different parts of the main character’s life as she copes with her sexuality in a close-minded Montana town.
2. Noose of Insanity
In these paintings, a room in a mental institution is the setting. The picture on the wall slowly changes from random lines to a noose through the perception of a homosexual that went insane after being sent to a mental hospital.
3. Gold Plated Marriage
I painted these with marriage equality in mind, using the male and female symbols to represent rings. The gold background also represents weddings, based on the common connotation with gold colors.
4. Bold Allies
This set of paintings represents the allies of the homosexuals that have joined forces to achieve equality and identical rights.
5. Halted Heart
This set of paintings represents the homosexuals who have felt so isolated and rejected; they sought escape through their death.